We had the pleasure of taking care of a sweet Goldendoodle puppy for a week. Of course, hindsight is everything and it could have gone either way. As it turns out, Archer is ~18 months old and such a special boy.

I just sent him back home with his parents and things are pretty sad around here. Within five minutes of him leaving, these two were sound asleep. I’m sure they were dreaming about their little brother…

Archer listens well, minds well, doesn’t shed, sleeps wherever I am (including curling up in the bathroom while I was showering or getting ready or doing my business), doesn’t get on the furniture, doesn’t beg for food, doesn’t run off when not on a leash, quiets his bark when told to, and is otherwise the best dog ever. Kudos to his parents for doing such a great job in training him!

That said, having a poodle mix for a week was quite a cautionary tale. His fur is SO HIGH MAINTENANCE. I’ll take Miles’ and Murphy’s shedding all day long over the work that Archer’s coat required. I was careful to brush him out a couple of times every day — quite time consuming — and he still looked like a ragamuffin most of the time. Not only that, there were tangles/mats all over that will need to be cut out. I was really surprised about how difficult it was to maintain him.

It was Camp sMiles around here for Archer. He had never really spent much time around other dogs in a situation like this and he took to it very well. More than that, he had never been swimming! Miles and Murphy showed him the way and he caught on very quickly. These three had the most fun all week long!

We can’t wait to have the opportunity to have sweet Archer back for another visit.

Miles gained an affinity for his Halloween costume when he found out where lions register on the food chain.

Look at the determination in his eyes! He is out to get his next prey: string cheese.

Miles’ affinity for the costume was a direct correlation to how many treats he was plied with when asked to wear it. We spent weeks wearing it around the house and playing fetch in the yard so that he’d grow comfortable wearing the mane and not insisting on pulling it off every time he stopped moving. It got to the point that he would get excited every time I showed it to him. Your classical conditioning shit is more than a theory, Pavlov!

He wore it to the office and to a party on Halloween and made many people very happy. Even dog-haters couldn’t help but grin. The little girls who live across the street came running out in their pajamas screaming, “YOU TURNED HIM INTO A LION!” That’s right. Miles the Friendly Lion.

Or, if you are interested, make me an offer on him being your Cowardly Lion for next year’s Wizard of Oz group costume.

So far, he hasn’t forgotten his commands and still answers quickly (and correctly) when asked whosagoodboy? I realize it’s all suspect. Now that he’s a teenager, he should start to be more defiant.

But I have hope. Greg can be counted on to dish up a little ice cream after dinner every night and Miles really enjoys sharing that with him. So he’ll put up with our plebian commands to come/sit/stay just for that luxury.

With enough ice cream, he could rule the world. This one has big plans. You wait and see.

Miles and his brother Tater were reunited after 12+ months of not seeing each other.

Miles on the left

They seemed to remember each other and played as though they had never been separated. So many of the same likes/preferences and mannerisms, so many similar expressions. And they can both fit 2+ tennis balls in their mouths!

Miles in front

You can see that Tater’s hair is longer and he is a bit taller than Miles, though Miles is more “filled out” than Tater.

They are both smart dogs who have responded well to training. They are both very affectionate with humans and other animals, though Tater is more submissive than Miles is. He displayed typical submissive behavior of licking Miles’ mouth and ears and deferring to Miles initiating play.

It’s so hard to believe these ~75 pound dogs were 1/10th of that when we met them:

Miles on the left

Just for fun, here are a few more pictures of them playing. A couple of these include Caryn’s other dog, Rutzie. The way she was playing that day, no one would guess that sweet girl is going to be 11 next month!

This past weekend was the final training weekend before the Santa Barbara Triathlon. I put together a “mock tri” for myself. Since I’ve been making it up as I go training-wise this year, I figured it might be good to put all three sports together again for the first time since my last race on June 16.

The family unit went over to Coyote Point for an open water swim early on Sunday morning. The skies were still cloudy and the temperature gauge registered 60*F outside. Even the water was warmer than that…

Miles likes to swim, and loves to swim with us. I went out for my swim while Greg stayed on the shore and threw the ball (actually, two balls) for him. I finished my 1 mile swim and then Greg went out for his. Miles was very vigilant, watching the splashing going on and keeping tabs on him at all times. I’d throw the balls and he would fetch them, only to come back to shore and look for Greg again.

We finished our swims, then I went out for a 17-mile bike ride + 3 mile run. It went pretty well, all in all. There’s nothing I can do about it now, so I guess that’s good.

We race on Saturday. It’s a 1 mile swim + 34 mile bike + 10 mile run. Between my knee and generally being a poor off-the-bike runner, I’m worried about the run. Regardless of my results, it’s going to be a great weekend with friends, racing in a beautiful location. I’ll be back with the details!

Competing in the Wildflower triathlon is difficult. <– This is an understatement. But it’s worth it because of the real fun that happens back at camp and on the way home.

When leaving Lake San Antonio on Sunday morning, we decided to take a leisurely trip over to Highway 1 (read: very hilly and very switchback-y) and then up the coast. When asked about the best place to stop for food/drinks, I couldn’t decide. We opted to make it a progressive endeavor. One stop was at Phil’s Fish Market in Moss Landing. Unlike the rest of us, Miles had a lot of spring in his step and I’m so delighted that Melanie got this shot of him!

It was a year ago that we brought Miles home. At ~6 pounds, this red ball was a formidable competitor.

Now, at 72 pounds, he’s barely interested.

He took immediately to clicker training and was sitting on command before he even had a name.

Miles is still a sucker for a treat and knows that good things happen to boys who sit politely.

He’s has proven to be a very good and smart boy. I am happy to report that he hasn’t rolled in single pile of poo or dead animal in the year we’ve had him! He travels well and loves to be included in all our adventures. He is a good runner, loves swimming, and chases us on mountain bikes on the trails. A true tri-dog! He loves his Chuck-It balls and can fit three balls in his mouth now, which he shows off by prancing around the dog park. A favorite game is for him to drop a ball down the basement stairs while I’m down there. I toss it back up to him and he catches it in his mouth and sends it down again.

We feed him mostly a raw diet, which he loves. It’s good for his coat and teeth, too. He loves carrots and apples as snacks, something Argus wouldn’t even touch. I think the only thing I’ve found he doesn’t like is strawberries. He has the UPS man trained to bring him treats along with our packages. He likes his crate, but we wake up most mornings with Miles wedged between us at a 90* angle. He is very affectionate and welcomes hugs and kisses without fuss. He insists on sitting on my lap in the driver’s seat wherever we go.

It has been a wonderful year with Miles as our companion. Time flies when you’re having fun!

I woke to the sound of a frantic dog barking yesterday morning. Greg had just returned from taking Lola and Miles to the dog park. He let Miles off the leash first while he wrangled with the harness he had put on Lola. He heard a bit of a scuffle in the backyard, and assumed it was Miles chasing the squirrels off the deck.

He was right. When he came around the corner, this is what he saw:

Our dog is on the neighbor’s garage roof. No big deal.

Apparently he followed the squirrels up there. How? We can only guess… One thing was for sure — getting down would be much more difficult.

When I got outside, prepared to admonish Greg for allowing Lola to bark so incessantly, this is what I saw:

Greg had crawled up there (using a ladder, obviously) and put a harness on Miles. There was a lot of contemplation going on as to how we could get this 73-pound dog off the roof without injuring him or ourselves in the process.

Finally, we decided to move the ladder to the neighbor’s side of the fence. I went over there (in my pajamas and slippers), where I found my sweet neighbor in her pajamas. Greg was able to carefully lower the dog down and I collected him, only getting slightly clobbered by his gangly limbs.

It was quite an adventure for 8 AM on a Saturday! The question now is whether we’ll find him up there again…

Lola loves water. No matter where it comes from — lake, ocean, her own water dish… She seems to especially love water that comes from the hose, as evidenced by this:

Greg was spraying some yuck off the deck and Lola couldn’t resist. Miles can’t figure out why she doesn’t run away crying, mirroring his own fear of The Horrible Thing That Sprays Cold Water. Greg and I can’t stop laughing.